Viridescent

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Scream

Viper grinned and lifted his foot from Endeavor's back, only to swing it forward and kick the Pro hero in the face, sending him rolling away several feet. Endeavor grunted in pain and clutched at his now bleeding face while Viper turned his head about to regard their surroundings.

"Well, would you look at that?" Viper snorted as he noted the conditions of the other Pros and police officers who had been hit by his Pyroclasm. He mockingly started to clap his hands. "Not bad, Endeavor! I think most of them survived this time! Well, a few of them are probably still dead, but you kept the Pros alive at least. Not that they'll be doing a lot of fighting soon."

Kamui Woods, Gang Orca, and Mt. Lady were all lying amongst the rubble, their unconscious bodies steaming from burns and the shock wave. Tora was down as well, having used his body as a shield to protect the defenseless Ragdoll. The riot police had been annihilated, and unlike the Pros, it appeared that a number of them hadn't survived the Pyroclasm. Several were buried under heavy rubble and others, who hadn't been as close to Endeavor's defense, had been caught by the edges of the shockwave and badly burned.

Endeavor wiped the blood from his face and staggered to his feet, seething with rage. "You fucking..."

Viper merely smirked at him. "Still wanna go, eh? Didn't you learn your lesson the last time? Or did I hit you so hard the trauma made you forget?"

Endeavor started stalking towards him, fists clenched and ready for a fight. "I'll show you trauma!"

"Oh, please!" Viper lunged at him and grabbed Endeavor's fist as the Pro swung at him. Endeavor made to grab Viper's neck, but the villain caught his wrist and merely held him off for a few moments. Endeavor was stronger than him physically because he still hadn't yet received his next enhancement, but that didn't matter.

"You can't hurt me with your fire, so you're gonna try and beat me in a slugfest?" Viper scoffed, amused.

"Silence!" Endeavor hissed, forcing his hand forward to grasp Viper by the throat. He squeezed with as much force as he could. "We'll see how cocky you are when I strangle you!"

Viper's body flared with heat and the next thing Endeavor knew, he was being blown away again by another Pyroclasm. He was better prepared this time and managed to retain his footing, stumbling back to a stop and straightening to face the villain. His body was shaking from the impact; this Pyroclasm hadn't been as strong as the first, but it still packed a hell of a punch.

It infuriated Endeavor. Viper was toying with him, fully aware that his Hellflame was absolutely useless against All Flare.

"Well, Endeavor," Viper sneered, rubbing his throat for a moment before lifting his hand and pointing his index finger at the hero. "I heard you went and became the number two hero while I was in prison, so let me congratulate you. You're not on All Might's level, but there aren't a lot of people who can take my Pyroclasms and keep fighting. It's a shame your Quirk is so useless against mine, otherwise this would be a pretty fun battle. But even so, let me see how much heat you can take!"

At his fingertip, a small sphere of concentrated emerald light formed, rapidly swelling until it was the size of a car tire. The air around the Sun Forge became warped and distorted as the temperature soared.

"Serpens Minor!"

The sphere shot towards Endeavor as the hero threw his hands up in defense and exploded into a corona of energy, searing the ground and air with a merciless roar.

All for One chuckled as the mismatched fight grew ever more violent. "After all these years, he still has that childish enthusiasm for fighting. Well, whatever. Let's go ahead and get this over with..."